Persimmon and Barratt to sign Gove’s cladding contract as others stall for time Cladding A handful of developers plan to sign the government contract to fix buildings affected by cladding and other fire risks in the coming weeks. Levelling up secretary Michael Gove gave developers a six-week deadline to commit to more than £2bn of repairs to fix the issues in buildings taller than 11 metres. This comes on [...]
Boris Johnson ‘lied’ over Putin missile attack claims, says Kremlin PUTIN JOHNSON SPAT The Kremlin has suggested Boris Johnson told “a lie” when the former prime minister said that Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared to threaten him with a missile strike. The former Downing Street incumbent made the claim in a new three-part series for BBC Two looking at how the West grappled with Mr Putin in the [...]
Zahawi ditched by Rishi Sunak as Conservative chair over £5m tax bill Zahawi tax affairs Nadhim Zahawi has today been sacked by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as Conservative party chair after weeks of speculation about his tax affairs. Sunak told Zahawi, 55, that, after an independent investigation, “it is clear that there has been a serious breach of the Ministerial Code,” forcing him to ditch the MP for Stratford-on-Avon. Sunak’s [...]
Putin and cronies must face justice for brutality in Ukraine, says EU January 28, 2023 The European Union wants swift accountability for “horrific” crimes in Ukraine, EU justice ministers said on Friday, even as they differed over the methods in a debate about how to bring prosecutions, seek evidence or fund war damage repairs. The bloc’s 27 justice ministers met in Stockholm ahead of the Feb. 24 anniversary of Russia’s [...]
Half-term strike action to bring chaos at British Museum January 28, 2023 Fresh strikes have been called by the biggest civil service union in its long-running dispute over jobs, pay and pensions. Members of the Public and Commercial Service union (PCS) at the British Museum will take industrial action during February half term. More than 100 members of the museum’s visitor services and security teams will take [...]
Dorries: Ex culture sec joins Piers Morgan, Jeremy Kyle and Vanessa Feltz with TalkTV Friday night slot January 27, 2023 Former culture secretary Nadine Dorries will host a new Friday night talk show on TalkTV. The first instalment of her weekly, hour-long programme, titled Friday Night With Nadine, will feature an exclusive interview with former prime minister Boris Johnson. The Tory MP for Mid Bedfordshire joins a roster that also includes Piers Morgan, Jeremy Kyle, [...]
£320,000 for ‘I’m A Celeb’ and £48,000 for pandemic books: Matt Hancock’s pay-days outside of Westminster revealed January 27, 2023 Matt Hancock was paid £320,000 for his controversial appearance on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!, it has been revealed. The former health secretary’s fee was listed on the MP’s register of financial interests. Hancock had the Conservative Party whip suspended for taking time off to appear on the ITV reality show. He [...]
‘I haven’t paid an HMRC fine’ Hunt confirms, as calls mount for Zahawi to go over tax fiasco January 27, 2023 Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said he has never paid a tax fine, as ministers’ financial affairs come under scrutiny amid growing calls from Conservatives for Nadhim Zahawi to stand down. Hunt raised suspicions by twice refusing to say whether he has paid a penalty as he took questions after an economic speech, claiming the public are [...]
Hunt: ‘No conceivable circumstances’ where HS2 does NOT reach Euston – as £1bn spend on its station is breached January 27, 2023 HS2 Ltd’s work at Euston started six years ago with more than £1 billion already spent, as chancellor Jeremy Hunt said it’s not “conceivable” it won’t reach London. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said he did not see “any conceivable circumstances” in which HS2 would not run to its planned central London terminus at Euston, amid reports [...]
The best cut is inflation: Hunt hits back at recession ‘declinism’ but appears to rule out tax cuts in March budget January 27, 2023 Jeremy Hunt today hit back at gloomy assessments about the UK’s economic prospects but told voters not to expect tax cuts at the March budget. In a speech at Bloomberg, the chancellor said “declinism about Britain is just wrong” adding that the economy has actually grown faster than fellow G7 nations France, Italy and Japan. [...]